Seeking solutions to feral cat problem

March 31, 2013

CHARLES TOWN - Peeking out from behind a dumpster in a dark alley, a cat glances around. The instant it sees the movement of a human, it quickly runs off into the night.

Not all cats that do not have homes are simply strays. Some cats have never had contact with humans and are wild, untamed and cannot be turned into pets - these are feral cats.

Several years ago, on his way home from Washington, D.C., Joe Schmidt of Charles Town spotted some kittens near the entrance to the Metro. When he realized these kittens could not find food, he walked several blocks to a nearby 7-Eleven and brought them back some dry cat food.

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Journal photo by Michelle Horst

Joseph Schmidt of Charles Town owns Maine Coon cats, all of which were adopted or rescued.

"This was a sub-colony of the larger colony of cats that live over at the Washington Naval Yard," Schmidt said, adding he found this out after feeding them for some time.

When he discovered a program called Ally Cat Allies, Schmidt began trapping these cats, having them neutered and then returning them to their environment as a way to properly manage the cat population. Since the cats were feral, they could not be turned into pets.

"Generally, when a stray cat is abandoned or strays away from home, and if that cat has kittens, those kittens never have human contact and are feral," Schmidt said. "Sometimes you can tame a feral kitten - I've done that - but you can never tame a feral adult cat."

Now, years later, Schmidt feeds his own colony of feral cats in Charles Town, which he has had trapped, neutered and returned to the wild.

Although he fears that by doing so, he risks being ticketed or fined, because, technically, what he is doing is against the city of Charles Town's ordinance 1102.16, which states: "No person shall feed, harbor or keep feral cats."

"On the other hand, there's another ordinance (1102.02) that says it's against the law to willfully withhold food, shelter or medicine from an animal," Schmidt said.

That ordinance, however, is intended for animals kept as pets, city manager Joe Cosentini said.

"Ferals, on the other hand, these are cats that no one owns," Cosentini said. "We are saying you can't randomly throw food out for these cats."

The city has these ordinances to allow for proper management of the wild animals, and while feral cats are not allowed to be fed, the process through which the Ally Cat Allies recommends (spay-neuter-return) is not something that the city finds objectionable, Cosentini said.

The problem lies in the location of where the feeding and trapping is taking place. While those residents who feed and trap ferals could technically be fined for the process, Cosentini said the city does not enforce that policy - as long as it is taking place on the city's property. If someone is feeding and trapping feral cats on private property, that property owner has the right to report the actions.

"We don't have a problem with this on city property; that can be done all the live-long day," Cosentini said. "If someone is going to do this on private property, then they need permission of the owner."

He also said that there are town residents who believe the city is trying to control the feral cat population by trapping them, but he said that is not true. The city of Charles Town has the ordinances in place to protect the animals that is the method of control. The city does not, and never has trapped feral cats, Cosentini said.

"Absolutely, the city of Charles Town has not now, and never has, trapped cats," Charles Town City Councilman Don Clendening said. "If for some reason we did decide to trap them, we would not treat them inhumanely we would be violating our own code."

Trap-neuter-return, Clendening said, is not completely in violation of the code, if done in a "humane fashion" and if the animals are property cared for. He did say, however, that feral cats should not be fed, because if someone feeds them, they are then responsible for that cat.

"We have not (trapped cats). Ever," Cosentini said.

Staff writer Michelle Horst can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 138, or twitter.com/mhorstJN.